Alawites to the grave books

Alawites are a middleeastern religious group prominent in syria, who backed the late syrian president hafez alassad. In each issue of origins, an academic expert will analyze a particular current issue political, cultural, or social in a larger, deeper context. Prior to bashar alassad, hafez alassad attracted the support of many minority youth, especially the alawites, to ensure the continuation of his regime. Alawites revere ali ali ibn abi talib, and the name alawi means followers of ali. The alawites trace their origins to the eleventh shia imam, hasan al askari d. The fall of the alawis is indeed inevitable, but with the succession of bashshar alasad after the death of hs father hafiz alasad on june 10, alawi rule in syria continues march 1, 2010 update. Syria has become a proxy war to shift the balance of power between sunnis and shiites in the middle east. Alawite the independent us latest news and features.

However, it is said that their religious beliefs include ancient middle eastern beliefs that predate islam and even christianity. Jun, 2012 renee montagne talks with professor joshua landis about the alawite sect in syria. The alawites and israel beginsadat center for strategic. A sect of shia islam, the alawites comprise roughly percent of the population and form the bulk of syrias key military units, intelligence services, and ultraloyalist militias, called shabiha ghosts in arabic. Jun 11, 2012 minority alawites like assad dominate in syria throughout the uprising in syria, president bashar assad has been able to count on strong support in own sect, the alawites. Alawis constituted about 10 percent of syrias prewar population. The alawites clearly have a troubled history and a precarious situation. This book surveys alawite history from the sects inception in abbasid iraq up to the. Editors note the civil war in syria has become one of the most bloody and geopolitically important events to come out of the arab spring. Assads father, hafez, in 1970, alawites were transformed from a persecuted minority sect to the controlling force within the army and government. A completely unputdownable mystery thriller paperback september 16, 2019. The differences between alawites and sunnis in syria have sharpened dangerously since the beginning of the 2011 uprising against president bashar alassad, whose family is alawite. The reason for the tension is primarily political rather than religious. Syrian alawites distance themselves from assad bbc news.

But now they are worriedand not entirely proregime. The alawites worship the sun and the moon, believe in the transmigration of souls, celebrate several christian holidays and have christian names. They are twelver shias insofar as the principles of their religious beliefs are concerned, but they are not practically committed to the shiite jafari fiqh jurisprudence because of being influenced by batini mystical beliefs though they are theoretically committed to the shiite. The conditions were so grave that alawites were forbidden from carrying copies of the quran, and people were forbidden from selling qurans to alawites. Currently, at least 470,000 syrians have been killed, and. Reportedly some of the turks converted to become alawites. Syrias alawites in war and peace details the the alawites development and treatment in syria. The sect seems to have been organised by a follower of ibn nusayrs known as alkhasibi who died in aleppo in about 969. It is rare for them to speak against the ruling regime publicly, but activists are now voicing. Renee montagne talks with professor joshua landis about the alawite sect in syria. Ensuring the protection of alawites will expedite an end to the civil war in syria. Jul 22, 2019 the assad regimes heavy reliance on alawis in the army units and militias dispatched to the frontlines, coupled with the communitys relatively small size, have resulted in disproportionate losses of the sects young men. Alawites in the muslim world may 2007 version alawites are an offshoot of shiites. Considering their past, which consists of countless massacres against alawites, made me reconsider who is a warmonger or is a peacemonger.

Alawi is the term that alawis also called alawites usually apply to themselves. The quran is only one of their holy books and texts, and their interpretation thereof has very little in common with the. Primer on the alawites in syria foreign policy research. Syrias alawites and other minorities who have aligned themselves with. In shia islam the two books that are extremely important are the quran this among sunnis, too and zainul abedins sahifat sajjaiyya. They are considered to be a subsect of the shiites. July 20 version alawites are an offshoot of shiites. Browse the independents complete collection of articles and commentary on alawite. Today, the alawis of syria are the only ruling religious minority in the muslim world. Alawites simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. They are sometimes called alawis, incorrectly called ansaris, and are no longer referred to as nusayris, which is now used almost exclusively as a slur. Caught between muslim dynasties to the south and the byzantine empire to the north, they adapted by assimilating into both their muslim and christian neighbors to avoid standing out goldsmith 1424. They add that the koran alone is our holy book and a clear. The alawites are outnumbered in syria by their traditional and theological enemies, the sunnis, by a margin of 70 to 12 percent.

In this book, stefan winter offers a complete history of the community, from the birth of the alawi nusayri sect in the tenth century to just after world war i, the. Rasail alhikma alalawiyya which was published anonymously in lebanon in 2006. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except allaah, and that muhammad, is his slave and messenger. Considering their past, which consists of countless massacres against alawites, made me reconsider who is. Against such collective memories the syrian uprising was viewed by many alawites, and observers, as a revanchist sunni muslim movement and the gravest threat yet to the unorthodox shia subsect. The change in name imposed by the fr ench upon their seizure of control in syria has significance. Lebanon is awash with refugees from the civil war, but the alawitesa small shiite sect that counts syrias president. Feb 02, 2012 alawites broke away from shiism more than 1,000 years ago and retain some links to it, including the veneration of ali, the cousin and sonin law of the prophet mohammad. Aug 17, 2012 alawites do not care how people pray, work, etc. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Alawites have seven pillars of islam, including jihad and devotion to ali,who is divine.

The alawites are an islamic sect founded by ibn nusayr in the ninth century ad. How hafez alassad divided the alawite sect syria deeply. I wanted him to acknowledge the enormous civilian death toll that has. The assad regimes heavy reliance on alawis in the army units and militias dispatched to the frontlines, coupled with the communitys relatively small size, have resulted in disproportionate losses of the sects young men. They certainly dont like to admit it, but alawites and christians are slated to share the same fate as the jews in the western levant. After the alawite state was established, the alawite communitys leaders, who were well aware of the discrimination and persecution alawites had suffered under various sunni muslim rulers, supported the continuation of the french mandate, and thus generally did not back the arab nationalist revolt centered in damascus against french rule in 19256. Well, this is gonna be a bit wordy, but this is what little i know about. Apr 26, 2017 all perfect praise be to allaah, the lord of the worlds.

The alawites could return to their political situation circa 1920, with a state independent of the rest of syria. However, they have added to their religion aspects of other faiths. The difference between alawites and sunnis in syria. The alawites are a small, historically oppressed people, whose political future will determine whether syria remains united in some form or disintegrates into. Afterwards alawites were regarded as outcasts and the empire sent turks to settle their lands. In addition to the analysis provided by each months feature, origins will also include images, maps, graphs and other material to complement the essay.

Oct 12, 2012 the alawites are a small, historically oppressed people, whose political future will determine whether syria remains united in some form or disintegrates into even smaller ethnic and religious. Ibn khalduns asabiyya and the cycle of fear a definition of asabiyya and its sectarian dimension how a group develops high asabiyya the nature and influence of a group with high asabiyya how a dynasty maintains asabiyya variables for the success of a dynasty how a groups asabiyya declines 2. While the war has become in many ways a sectarian shiasunni battle, in syria there is a third religious group that has played a pivotal role in the history of that country. Syria those chanting christians to beirut, alawites to their graves.

The minority group is the power base for president bashar assads government. The struggle over the future of the country was not always a sectarian one. The other name, nusairis, comes from the name of ibn nusair ninth century, who is considered to be the founder of the sect. The fundamental doctrines of the alawites also known as nusayris are the foll. Against such collective memories the syrian uprising was viewed by many alawites, and observers, as a revanchist sunni muslim movement and the gravest threat yet to the unorthodox. The long history of persecution endured by the alawites since the 9th century at the hands of their sunni overlords simply because of deviance from statesanctioned orthodox islam is a harrowing tale that made one understand why despite dissatisfaction with the assad government the alawites continue to firmly support the regime. The term alawi was recognized by the french when they occupied the region in 1920. To the grave follows two different timelines, each telling their own tale, but helping to fill in the blanks for the other. Lebanon is awash with refugees from the civil war, but the alawitesa small shiite sect that counts syrias president, bashar assad, among its memberstend to keep. With that striking statement, yvette talhamy, formerly. Alawites, who have long rallied behind their coreligionist president, now want to execute his cousin for killing an alawite army officer august 7 in an apparent road rage incident.

In order to have copies of the quran, alawites had to ask their christian and jewish friends to bring them qurans. They follow a branch of the twelver school of shia islam. May 04, 2011 the alawites are outnumbered in syria by their traditional and theological enemies, the sunnis, by a margin of 70 to 12 percent. As it stands, there are four likely futures for the alawite people. Some did so out of loyalty to the assad family, and some out of fear that an elected government, inevitably dominated by politicians from the sunni majority, would take revenge for the abuse of power committed by alawite officers. Alawiyah, are a sect of shia islam primarily centred in. The alawites and the future of syria gatestone institute. Minority alawites like assad dominate in syria throughout the uprising in syria, president bashar assad has been able to count on strong support in own sect, the alawites. He then traced the sects evolution into a quite distinct community over the centuries.

The alawites are one of several minorities in syria, but they have. Alawites have had deputies and ministers in government, as well as officers participating in the countrys various military coups. To the grave by steve robinson meet your next favorite book. Some other muslims, particularly in syria and lebanon, accept them as muslims, but others consider themheretics ghali and outside of islam.

Alawites have seven pillars of islam, including jihad and devotion to ali,who is. Alawites are concentratit in the latakia region o sirie, extendin north tae antioch, turkey, an in an aroond homs an hama. Alawites and their beliefs have been described as secretive yaron friedman, for example, in his scholarly work on the sect, has written that the alawi religious material quoted in his book came only from public libraries and printed books since the sacred writings of the alawi are kept secret. The syrian conflict has captured the attention of the world. Nov 27, 2014 if alawites would like to have their books translated they could easily do it, especially in a country like syria where they were not subject to harrassment until recently. Alawites revere ali, and the name alawi means followers of ali other websites. The majority of classical alawite works which yaron friedman drew from for his own work on the alawites were the six volumes of the silsilat alturath alalawi. The muslim brotherhood, predominately sunni, strengthened the divide by intensifying the rhetoric against the alawites and denouncing the sect as infidels. Contemporary alawite books need translators politics. Prior to bashar alassad, hafez alassad attracted the support of many minority youth, especially the. Alawites were actively persecuted under mameluke rule from 1260 onwards. Their holy books and rituals are restricted to a few people who pledge to keep the secrets of the faith kitman. I humbly offer that the alawite book has a position in between these two. Thus, in order to legitimize their rule among the sunni majority, they must publicly project an image of championing arabism by unrelentingly rejecting israel and flirting with israels avowed enemies.

Bashar alasad, the president of syria, is an alawite. Facing a grave challenge to its monopoly of power from 2011 onward, the. There are historical accounts of the exacerbation of the conditions for nonbektashi alawites after the defeat of the safavids until the collapse of the ottoman government. In my opinion, the alawites are very strong minded and influential when it comes to religion and politics, especially in syria for instance where they had control over the country since early 1971 all the way up to now, and the alawites are found in large numbers in syria where they number about 12% of the population and mostly live in and around the seaport city of latakia, and they live in. Alawites in power repeated army intervention in politics, combined with the infiltration of the army by some political parties, led to the militarisation of political life in syria. For alawites, revealing religious secrets to outsiders can lead to severe punishment. The alawites are an offshoot of shia islam who revere ali, the prophet mohammeds cousin and soninlaw. Additionally, more than 11 million people almost half of syrias prewar population of 23 million either have been killed or have fled their. The history of the alawites and the future of syria. When ottoman empire took over in 1516, they killed over 90,000 alawite shias and continued the practice.

Jun 29, 2016 the muslim brotherhood, predominately sunni, strengthened the divide by intensifying the rhetoric against the alawites and denouncing the sect as infidels. Their beliefs are close to the beliefs of the ismailis, but also include elements of ancient eastern astral cults and of christianity. In addition, corruption and warprofiteering, mainly benefitting highranking regime officers and mukhabarat secret police agents, reinforced the image of alawis as. Opposition leaders have tried to reassure minorities that a postassad syria would be democratic and religiously tolerant, but analysts are skeptical. They live in syria, mainly in the mountains near the city of latakia, but many also live in the cities of hama and homs, and in recent decades there has been a migration to damascus. Leaders of president bashar alassads alawite sect in syria release a document.

Alawites revere ali, and the name alawi means followers of ali. The sect is believed to have been founded by ibn nusayr during the 9th century. After the death of the eleventh imam, alaskari, problems emerged in the shia community concerning his. This article appeared in the books and arts section of the print edition under the headline paying the price reuse this content the trust project. Alawites article about alawites by the free dictionary. The syncretic and mythical belief is a secret, even to its own believers. In early 2011 an elderly alawite shaykh lamented the long history of oppression and aggression against his people. The people behind assad the alawites are usually seen as fervent supporters of bashar alassad.

Nusayr proclaimed himself the bab or door representative of the 11th imam. Turkish alawites or anatolia alawites or alevis turkish. Alawites call themselves alawi the term alawite is of relative recent origin and historically they have been called nusairis, namiriya or ansariyya. Aug 29, 2014 alawites revere ali ali ibn abi talib, and the name alawi means followers of ali. Alawites broke away from shiism more than 1,000 years ago and retain some links to it, including the veneration of ali, the cousin and sonin law of the prophet mohammad. Alawites to the grave emerged early in the war as a slogan of antiregime fighters. As the uprising in syria drags on, there are signs that some alawites are beginning to move away from the regime. All perfect praise be to allaah, the lord of the worlds. Alawites spurned by rebels in syria washington times.